First AR receiver and some questions?

[BIGBANG]

ok I've been wanting an ar 15 forever now. The problem is I never found the one I wanted and I don't wanna buy some junky olympic ar15. So I thought I'd build the lower I want and then just buy the upper I want online. I went to a couple places yesterday between school and only one place sold lowers and on top of that they have the one I wanted!!!

I wanted a spikes rifle but I don't wanna wait forever for one so I was looking for a spikes lower, specifically a JollyRoger lower with the bullet markings with the color fill. Low and behold my search is over!!!!





now for the questions, do I need any special tools to put it together, oh and I got a spikes lpk and spikes mil spec stock tube thingy haha! I got all this for right at $240, they were selling a lower complete without any color fill or the jollyroger and bullet safety fire selectors for $349.

I feel like I did good, I just ain't never put one together It isn't to hard is it?

 

[sansone]

you can do it, do a search online until you find step-by-step instructions with pics.
remember to place tape over the portions of the receiver that are at risk of being scratched

 

[rcmodel]

Buy this book:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=18223/Product/THE_AR_15_COMPLETE_ASSEMBLY_GUIDE

Everything you need to know, and then some.

rc

 

[browneu]

Yep be careful driving in the roll pin for the trigger guard. Also tape around the bolt catch pin will help keep your receiver from getting scratched.

YouTube has some good assembly videos. I'd get a spring loaded punch and a castle nut wrench.

 

[deadeye1122]

EASY

I just finished my first lower build in two hours. Printed the build steps off AR-15. I found a special tool for the pivot pin. Went to the local farm supply store and bought a 1/4 inch x 2 inch clevis pin that had a 1/8 inch hole in the end. Worked great. You can do it. Nice to see how everything works. Good luck. deadeye.

 

[Tirod]

On line link here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_4/22...__GAS_BLOCK___Step_by_step_instructions_.html

You do NOT need any special tools to assemble an AR lower. I would strongly suggest that most of the fancy stuff in the armorer's tool kit is to disassemble large machine guns - not assemble an AR, which few armorer's ever do. They're shipped complete, right?

Read the link, you'll find that only if you are experienced with hammering on punches should you bother finding and buying an expensive one time only set of roll pin punches. Otherwise, a simple pair of Vice Grip pliers with taped jaws does about 99% of what you need pressing in roll pins. As for the front pivot pin, as explained in the link, all you have to do is rotate the pin so the channel is 90 degrees to the detent, press the detent back, insert the pin, and rotate back to capture it.

This may sound unduly harsh, but the problems most have with assembling an AR are all based on a lack of mechanical experience and, bluntly, soft hands that aren't used to forcing parts together under pressure. If you can change a water pump, you can assemble an AR, and do it with some of the tools from the same box.

Now, just to explain my point of view, I've been fixing my own cars for 25 years, and worked two years on a 100 ton press brake - my small scarred hands could then compress a grip scale off the dial at 135 pounds. So, having the ability to depress a detent against spring pressure without wobbling it and watching it shoot across the room is less likely. Using vice grips like a ratchet jack to press in pins seemed a lot less likely to damage something than beating them in with a hammer. Holding a pin punch in one hand and striking it with a tool in the other means it's likely just laying on a work bench, and not supported or held down securely. No thanks, I'll put up with a scratch or two from being too lazy to tape things up. One deer season or gone training for two weeks, nothing comes back mint anyway.

For those who want to assemble a lower, it needs to be pointed out - nobody has all the skills or experience, except the few hundred nationwide doing it for Colt, Remington, DPMS, etc. We do it to learn, and by definition, that means we aren't qualified for hire. Period. Don't beat yourself up about getting a scratch on it, worry more about not breaking things off - like the notorious trigger ears. When you're done, then an appreciation for how hard it is to do hundreds daily blemish free will be gained.

 

[BIGBANG]

Tirod thank you greatly! I'm not soft handed by any means, My brothers a mechanic and my dads an electrician, I've been using tools along time. I was just worried because there's a difference between fixing something and building something. It's good to know I'm not the first to tackle something like this, but your all right I'm doing this because I want to know how the rifle works, I want the experience to do it, and I love guns so its a win win for me. I will give updates when I finish ya'll thanks again.